Do any of you moms have a hard time finding and the real kicker - preparing - healthy, nutritional snacks for your kids? Kate is at the stage that she can eat just about anything, although we did discover she has a "sensitivity/mild allergy" to milk and eggs. I am hoping that is a phase we grow out of, but for now it's our reality until she is 12 or 18 months old.
I feel like I get in a rut with what I serve her and then David and I get the real leftovers. More times than not, Kate will have a small 3-course balanced homemade meal and David and I will be ordering in Thai...again or having a nice, healthy Mexican dish or chicken casserole that I have prepared (does one exist?). That is what I am focusing on right now. Making some meals that all three of us can enjoy and when that is not possible, then making sure that 'balance' extends to David's and my dinner plate as well sweet baby Kate's. It exhausts me sometimes. I feel it's a lot pressure, do you?
Kate's usual daily meals consist of the following options:
Breakfast: whole-grain oatmeal (now with flax) and either 1/2 jar of prunes or fresh fruit and a piece of whole wheat toast, or chicken sausage and a cut up waffle and fruit
Snacks: banana, avocado, and/or yogurt, cheerios, pear, or apple
Lunch/ Dinner: meat: rotisserie chicken ( i just bought at the store), ground turkey or chicken, baked fish / veggie: sweet potatoes, zucchini, butternut or summer squash, sometimes broccoli, she loves peas and green beans / fruit: any fresh fruit available
David thinks that I obsess over this too much, but I feel like there have to be some other great options without making a full meal every single day - four times a day (like those in my baby cookbook). Does anyone have ideas that work well for your kids and that are still respectful of daily activities that involve things other can cooking? Do tell.
This weekend I made a new snack for the family on the healthier side. I got the recipe from Dr. Phil's wife on Rachel Ray last week. Some of you may have seen it as well. I must admit, though I hold tightly to my mom's rice krispie treats (they are truly the best), these are a great healthy alternative and quite tasty.
Warning: It will more than likely require a trip to the health store. For me - that was a bonus, because I am really enjoying the health store these days. It is fun to explore new healthy alternatives for the fam. Our (or should I say my) favorites right now are chicken sausage, milled flax seed (that we add to anything and everything), almond butter, soy yogurt (for Kate) raw honey, and the dried fruit. If you have any recommendations on things we are missing out on, please do let me know!
And, yes - to answer your question - this blog was all about food.
See what you think.
Family Snack Bars
· Non-stick cooking spray or melted butter, as needed for pan
· 3 cups large marshmallows
· 3/4 cup nut butter, such as cashew, almond, peanut or hazelnut
· (1) 10 to 12-ounce box brown rice cereal
· 1/2 cup dried cranberries (or any dried fruit)
· 2/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
· 2/3 cup chopped cashews, toasted
. I add flaxseed - but that's optional, of course
Preparation:
1. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of a medium baking sheet with the nonstick cooking spray or melted butter.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, zap the marshmallows and nut butter, stirring after 1 minute, until melted, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the brown rice cereal, cranberries, pecans and cashews to the melted marshmallow mixture and stir gently to combine – be careful not to crush up the bits of cereal too much.
4. Either wet your hands or spray them lightly with the nonstick cooking spray and turn the cereal marshmallow mixture out onto the greased baking sheet. Press it into the pan using your slick hands so that it's evenly distributed. Set the pan aside and let the bars set up, about 30 minutes.
5. Once set, cut them into squares and serve.
9 comments:
WOW--you have given ME some new ideas on food and snack ideas! Thanks! :)
I don't really have much to add. Grace used to eat anything and everything. Once she turned about 18 months old though she got pickier, so now our options are: waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, toast, eggs, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, yogurt, any kind of fruit, edamame, carrots, and peas. She loves when I make her smoothies in the morning. It is great that you are introducing Kate to so many different options and hopefully she will continue to prefer all of the healthy choices. Grace has had very few cookies or candy in her life and has never tasted soda. She has had her fair share of ice cream, though, and loves it!
I'm impressed! You're making a great effort to feed your family healthy foods :) I would recommend the website, www.westonaprice.org - has lots of stuff about kids' health and food ideas. You might also want to read what they have to say about soy.
Shawna...I go through the same thing. Luke definitely eats healthier than we do, and we want to get into the habit of eating the same foods together, but I just don't know what either. I am learning so much about what's really in food, and it makes me more concerned with what we are putting into our bodies. Anyway, do share if you get any great ideas! Kate is adorable, by the way.
Hey girl, I don't have much to add either...just that I'm struggling in the same area. Preston eats a lot of fruit, sweet potato, yogurt, breads, and cheese b/c they're easy and fast. I am really picky too about what I put in his body, which is good b/c it's caused me to become picky for our meals as well. One of his fav's for lunch is a jelly sandwich. I just break the bread up for him. We are still battling playing with our food, and dropping it though! ;(
Oh, I thought of one more thing...P LOVES turkey. I get it sliced real thin, almost shaved. And I get the lowest sodium one I can find. ;)
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and additions. If any of us discover new things - let's share! :)
Wow! You have put a lot of thought into this!!
I try not to obsess about what Judah eats- its hard enough to find a variety of stuff he will eat so he is not eating the same thing over and over. He loves any bread/carb. He will choose any starch over anything else, so chicken/protein, cheese and veggies have to be slipped in before he sees the bread product. My biggest deal is limiting his sweets- he doesn't eat sweets unless he is with my mom! :)
I would go crazy if I was fixing food for Judah and food for us. He eats what we eat, sometimes a variation of it, but generally the same, with more veggies and fruit.
But he is a little bigger, so he can probably eat a little stronger stuff too. Like last night we had sloppy joes, and he had that, but just not as a sandwich. But I am not sure I would have done that at Kate's age yet. I was always nervous to give him too many flavors when he was smaller- I still try to keep things pretty simple for his little system.
My guess is that when we have multiple kids that this will be a non-issue.
shawna...i have some thoughts on this...i'll email you so that your comment section isn't a novel :)
I know of a few yummy and healthy "mexican" type recipes!!! I'll get them out and maybe blog them soon! :) I'll have to try that snack bar! :) I recently became introduced to almond butter, sort of regretfully, only because it's more expensive that peanut butter and the latter can NEVER live up to it! Hahaha!
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